10. Find someone to help me calculate the account
When Xu Wenqiang was still sitting on the ground, her first reaction when she saw Xiao Cheng was, "Returning customer! Business is coming to us." So when she stood up, the first thing she said was, "Classmate, what are you planning to buy this time?"
Xiao Cheng looked at Xu Wenqiang, who looked like a mercenary, and recalled the old "unsuccessful communication" with her. The fish and shrimp in the market, whether Xu Wenqiang's or anyone else's, were all the same to him. And he and Xu Wenqiang weren't close enough to care for her business.
"If you buy seafood—"
“The market is so big, I want to walk around.”
Xu Wenqiang could see that Xiao Cheng had no intention of becoming their repeat customer.
"Okay, go shopping by yourself." Xu Wenqiang didn't force it any further and waved to Xiao Cheng, "I'm going back to business."
"You're busy." Xiao Cheng turned and walked in the other direction of the market.
When Xu Wenqiang appeared in front of Xu Yanmei with two bags of instant noodles, she was scolded.
"Xu Wenqiang, do you still have a conscience? You let me eat instant noodles?"
"You eat and drink delicious food at school all day long, while I suffer all day in the market and in the end I can't even have a meal."
......
Xu Wenqiang cooked noodles in an electric hot pot while keeping a close eye on Xiao Cheng, who was wandering around the market. She didn't really listen to what Xu Yanmei was saying. But Su Xiaoshan's mother, Xu Hui, couldn't stand it any longer and offered two steamed buns to Xu Yanmei, urging her to stop.
"Yanmei, our Xiaoshan has been staying at school for evening self-study since the start of the semester. Wenqiang is sensible and knows it's not easy for you to be alone, so she comes back to help you after school."
"Who cares about her?"
Xu Yanmei wolfed down the buns, and only after filling her stomach with something did she calm down a little.
Seeing that Xu Yanmei didn't leave even half a bun for Xu Wenqiang, Xu Hui called Su Xiaoshan's father to bring two more. Xu Wenqiang said quickly, "Auntie, no need. I've already cooked the noodles. It would be a waste if you don't eat them."
“This is not nutritious.”
"It's okay, I just like to eat this..."
"Okay, I'm going back."
Xu Hui was also an understanding person. The mother and daughter had their own lives to live, and if she interfered too much, she would only be disliked.
After Xu Yanmei finished her steamed buns, she smelled the instant noodles and felt craving them again. Xu Wenqiang shared a bowl with her. The steaming broth and fragrant noodles filled the air, and mother and daughter each had a bowl. Although both were cooked with a plethora of seasonings, once they reached her stomach, they felt like a comforting meal, a touch of the everyday world.
Xu Wenqiang slurped her noodles as she watched Xiao Cheng leisurely walk over to the seafood stall. She thought, "He's here to buy seafood after all." Xu Yanmei ate two steamed buns and a bowl of instant noodles. Perhaps feeling full, she kept complaining about stomach discomfort. Worried her stomach was flaring up again, Xu Wenqiang told her to go home, take some medicine, and rest.
Businesspeople rarely skipped meals. Most of the time, they'd eat a few bites when hungry, and a few more when they had some free time. Sometimes, when they were so busy, they couldn't even eat a single meal. Over time, this habit led Xu Yanmei to develop stomach problems.
When Xu Wenqiang was five years old, Xu Yanmei had a stomach ailment. She was in so much pain that she was crouched on the ground, unable to stand up. Xu Wenqiang pulled some medicine from her pocket and offered it to her. But Xu Yanmei, too pained to examine the contents, swallowed them all. She ended up taking the wrong medicine, passed out, and was rushed to the hospital.
After Xu Yanmei woke up, she opened her eyes and slapped Xu Wenqiang.
Xu Wenqiang held back her tears and whispered: I saw you taking that medicine every night and you fell asleep after taking it, so I thought it was a good medicine.
The doctor next to her couldn't stand it anymore, so he pulled Xu Wenqiang aside and scolded Xu Yanmei: What does the child know? Can she tell the difference between sleeping pills and stomach medicine?
Xu Yanmei looked at the five finger marks on Xu Wenqiang's little face, slapped herself hard, and then said to the doctor: I was wrong, okay?
The doctor was speechless, sighed and left.
Seeing that there were not many people in the market, Xu Yanmei talked to Xu Wenqiang about the prices of fish and shrimp and then went home.
"Classmate, what do you want to buy?"
“Today’s fish and shrimp are especially fresh!”
......
Xiao Cheng covered his nose with his hands and always kept a certain distance from the various fish and shrimps on the table.
Xu Wenqiang looked at him and thought, judging by his way of "shopping," he clearly doesn't know how to do it. Those who know how to shop at the market are eager to examine everything, fearing it might not be fresh. But Xiao Cheng's aloof demeanor clearly shows he's a novice, thin-skinned and unwilling to care, ready to be ripped off.
"Hey, handsome boy, can you see the fish and shrimp from such a distance? Come over and take a look!"
As expected, Huang Ju, who has always liked to do business with enthusiasm in the market and is known as "Sister Huang", saw this and pulled Xiao Cheng to the front of her stall.
After pulling Xiao Cheng over, Sister Huang picked up the fish and shrimp without saying a word and put them on Xiao Cheng's face.
"This hairtail is fresh. I'll pack a few for you. It's exactly three pounds. This sea bass is also good, three and a half pounds. Look at the prawns jumping around. How about two pounds..."
Huang hurriedly packed a large bag, and finally handed the fish and shrimp to Xiao Cheng with a smile on her face: "Handsome boy, I'll round off the change for you, a total of 300 yuan."
Xiao Cheng looked at the fish and shrimp handed to him but didn't take them. He looked at Sister Huang and asked politely, "Auntie, how much are these hairtail fish, sea bass, and shrimp per pound?"
Sister Huang thought she had met a rich but brainless kid who she could rip off, but she didn't expect that the kid was not stupid at all.
But who was this Sister Huang? When she was setting up her stall in this market, this hairless child in front of her hadn't even been born yet.
"This hairtail fish is 26.6 per jin, this sea bass is 28.8 per jin, and these prawns are 29.9 per jin. Your aunt likes auspicious numbers, so I always choose auspicious prices," said Sister Huang with a smile. She didn't believe the child in front of her could calculate the total price with these decimals, as he had nothing on him.
Xiao Cheng knew he was being blackmailed. Of course, he hadn't paid yet, so he could just walk away and avoid any losses. But that would make him lose face. And then there was this auntie in front of him, with her face as bright as a chrysanthemum, who would throw a tantrum and refuse to pay, leaving him feeling extremely embarrassed.
"Handsome boy, you asked about the unit price, and I've told you everything. You won't refuse to buy it just because you can't figure it out, right?"
"Or do you think it's too expensive? Oh, I worked so hard, you should have told me earlier if you didn't want to buy it!"
Sister Huang has a lot of things to say, which can make the furry kid in front of her want to find a crack to crawl into.
"Auntie, of course I'm going to buy these fish and shrimp." Xiao Cheng said slowly, "But I need someone to help me with the bill."
"Settle the score?" Sister Huang frowned. "Who do you want to settle the score with?"
"There's a girl named Xu Wenqiang in your market, right? She's my classmate and she's really good at mental arithmetic." Xiao Cheng said, looking in Xu Wenqiang's direction. "She's here too, so I'd like her to help me."
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